When Golf Town Athlete Brooke Henderson won the 2016 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship it was incredibly special. And now, five years later, it’s still one of her proudest moments as a professional.

Brooke’s final-round 65 that year got her into a tie through 72 holes with Lydia Ko, who at the time was the top-ranked golfer in the world. When Brooke nailed a birdie putt on the first playoff hole, she became the youngest golfer in history to win that major and it moved her to second in the world rankings.

As she gets ready for another Women’s PGA Championship, she is quick to describe the impact of that week. The win marked the very first with Brittany on her bag, which was, Brooke says, very cool.

“It changed my whole career and whole life,” says Brooke. “Everything just seemed to go so great that Sunday. To make a bunch of birdies, to make that eagle putt on 11 – the long, long eagle – and be in contention… It was only my second win on Tour so to have the fans cheering me on and then to go into a playoff against someone who I really looked up to, and is a good friend now, and was world No.1, Lydia, was pretty incredible.”

This year’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship will be played at the Atlanta Athletic Club, the host course of the 1976 U.S. Open and 2001 and 2011 PGA Championships. Like the Olympic Club in San Francisco for the U.S. Women’s Open a few weeks ago, the Atlanta Athletic Club is a big-time venue that, in the past, has only hosted men’s majors. This will be a unique and exciting opportunity for the best female golfers on the planet, Brooke says.

“KPMG and the PGA of America has given us an opportunity to play these courses that we didn’t really have in the past so to be able to go in where the men have played their major championships and take in and be a part of that history is really cool for us,” says Brooke. “Hopefully we can make an exciting week and make some of our own history.”

No matter where the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship has been played recently, Brooke seems to play well. She has finished outside the top-6 on the leaderboard only once in her entire career and has notched results of T5-1-2-T6-T30-6 in her career.

Last year’s Women’s PGA was moved to October due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Brooke shot a 65 in the third round to move into a tie for second, just two shots back of the lead held by Sei-Young Kim, but a 2-over-par Sunday saw her fall down the leaderboard. No one was going to catch Kim that week, however, as she ended up winning by five shots over Inbee Park after a Sunday 63.

Still, Brooke feels like there is a ton of momentum on her side for this year’s Women’s PGA.

“I just love this tournament so much. Winning it in 2016 really changed my whole life. I love going and showing up on Monday morning and seeing my name engraved on the trophy – it’s very cool. I’ve had a lot of great results when the golf course is different every year and it’s a different part of the country,” says Brooke. “There are a lot of bonuses that week and I’m looking forward to hoisting that trophy again!”